Let's eliminate those fake smiles! Get Genuine Smiles From Kids!
Kids are completely unpredictable. They can be so adorable and easy going and laughing uncontrollably one minute, and the next minute, turn off the charm. Or they will typically smile for you all day long until you put them in front of a camera, then they freeze up. Can we avoid the gritted teeth and forced smiles during our session? Can we work together to get genuine smiles from the kids? Sure we can!
Here are some things you can do at your next family session:
Practice phrases at home to see which ones will get the best genuine smiles from your child.
Tell us a little about their personality. Tell us the kinds of movies they watch, music they listen to, friends’ names or their favorite story, etc. This will give us something to talk to them about, and will help them forget that they are in front of the camera.
Make a list of things that your child thinks are funny and send it to us prior to the session. This way, we can be prepared and add these things into our bag of tricks.
Practice a joke with them. During the session, we can ask them to tell us a joke and this will typically loosen them up as they tell it to us.
Prepare a small bribe (a toy or getting an ice cream cone after the session) and remind them of it during the session.
Hear are some ways I have gotten genuine smiles at past sessions:
Theses kids were smiling very politely, until I whispered to someone to splash them a little bit! Then we got real genuine smiles!
Boys will be boys and asking this little one to jump off that rock was right up his alley! No fake smile!
If there is a song that your child loves, feel free to load it on your phone and bring it along with you. Look at the joy on this little ones face!
If you have found other things that might work to bring genuine smiles, I would love to hear it! Leave your ideas in the comments below!
If you are thinking about getting your family together for a family session and need some suggestions on what to wear use this button to get a free download .
Try this link if you are looking for a great place to buy kid's clothes for your session.
